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On August 8, in front of a crowd of more than 100 people who attended an appreciation dinner, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly delivered a moving speech to the clients of at the Friendship House Association of American Indians, Inc. of San Francisco, an American Indian residential treatment center according to a Navajo Nation press release.

“When you get to the top, yell out, ‘I made it!’’ Shelly said amidst an eruption of applause and cheers.

Former Navajo Nation President and Chairman Peterson Zah introduced Shelly, who advised clients that mistakes happen and are a part of life, but to continue looking to future accomplishments.

Friendship House’s mission according to its website “is to promote healing and wellness in the American Indian community by providing a continuum of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery services that integrate traditional American Indian healing practices and evidence-based substance abuse treatment methods.”

Shelly compared the journey of life to a stream that starts in the mountains stating: “At some points, life gets hard. It takes turns and you don’t know what is coming next,” he said, “then you reach the ocean and a giant pool of water. That water is your knowledge, your knowledge about life.”

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